407 Marlborough is located on the north side of Marlborough, between Hereford and Massachusetts Avenue, with 405 Marlborough to the east and 409 Marlborough to the west.

407 Marlborough was designed by architect Samuel D. Kelley and built in 1889 by Keening & Strout Brothers, masons, for jeweler and real estate developer Edwin B. Horn, Jr., one of two six unit apartment buildings (405-407 Marlborough) built for Edwin Horn at the same time. In 1890, he had two additional apartment buildings built, a twelve unit building at 409 Marlborough and a six unit building at 411 Marlborough, both also designed by Samuel D. Kelly and built by Keening & Strout Brothers.

Edwin Horn is shown as the owner on the original building permit applications for 405 and 407 Marlborough, both dated January 24, 1889, on the final building inspection report for 405 Marlborough dated October 29, 1889, on the permit application for 409 Marlborough, dated May 19, 1890, and on the final building inspection reports for 409 and 411 Marlborough, both dated October 21, 1891.

Edwin Horn purchased the land for 405-407 Marlborough on January 16, 1889, the lot for 405 Marlborough from Nelson S. Bartlett, and the lot for 407 Marlborough from Josiah Bradlee. Nelson Bartlett had purchased the lot at 405 Marlborough on February 1, 1887, from Anna Sears Amory, the daughter of William Amory, Jr., and Ellen (Brewer) Amory. Josiah Bradlee had purchased the lot at 407 Marlborough on May 11, 1882, from Anna Sears Amory’s sister, Caroline Brewer (Amory) Lyman, the wife of George Hinckley Lyman, Jr. Both lots had been part of a 134 foot wide parcel purchased by Anna Amory’s and Caroline (Amory) Lyman’s father, William Amory, Jr., on February 10, 1881, from George P. Bangs and Charles P. Horton. All of the land had been part of a parcel purchased on March 1, 1872, from the Boston Water Power Company by a real estate investment trust formed by Grenville T. W. Braman, Henry D. Hyde, and Frank W. Andrews.

Click here for an index to the deeds for 407 Marlborough, and click here for further information on the land on the north side of Marlborough between Hereford and Massachusetts Avenue.

In July of 1889, Edwin Horn advertised 405 and 407 Marlborough in the Boston Evening Transcript as having “handsome apartments of 8 rooms with every possible convenience, including passenger elevator. The rooms are large and all outside to air; finished and decorated in the most artistic taste; rents extremely low.”

On October 29, 1889, 407 Marlborough was purchased from Edwin Horn by wholesale lumber merchant Edward Jonathan Hammond. He and his wife, Alice Ida (Eastman) Hammond, lived at 440 Marlborough.

On January 21, 1891, 407 Marlborough was acquired from Edward Hammond by David Boardman Flint, a retired lumber merchant. He and his wife, Dr. Almena Jane (Guptill) Baker Flint, lived at 360 Commonwealth.

On June 18, 1897, Edward Hammond acquired 407 Marlborough back from David Flint. In its June 19, 1897, report on the transaction, the Boston Evening Transcript noted that he “will begin at once putting in a new system of plumbing, electric lights, hard-wood floors and decorations throughout.”

On May 1, 1902, 407 Marlborough was purchased from Edward Hammond by Alonzo N. Burbank. In December of 1902, he acquired 405 Marlborough. He and his wife, Ann M. (Gale) Burbank, lived in Brookline and later in Newton. He was a founder of the International Paper Company and served as its treasurer and later as its president.

On February 16, 1916, 405 and 407 Marlborough were acquired from Alonzo Burbank by Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth (Williams) Hodson, the former wife of Septimus Hodson. She was a secretary in the real estate offices of J. Sumner Draper and Mark Temple Dowling, and acted as conveyancer of the properties.

On April 18, 1916, 407 Marlborough was acquired from Sarah Hodson by Philip Murray Reynolds, a manufacturer of knitting machines. He and his wife, Mary Blaisdell (Gardner) Reynolds, lived in Milton.

On February 12, 1920, 407 Marlborough was acquired from Philip M. Reynolds by Herman H. Cleval.

The property subsequently changed hands and on April 1, 1921, it was acquired by Martha Maurice (Hammelburg/Hamilburg) Wolf, the wife of William Lewis Wolf, a jeweler.

On March 1, 1926, it was acquired from Martha Wolf by her paternal aunt, Martha M. (Hammelburg/Hamilburg) Emerson Driscoll, the former wife of A. Joseph Emerson and the widow of John E. Driscoll, who had died in October of 1925. Before her husband’s death, they lived in Dorchester; by 1927, she lived at the Elks Hotel at 275 Tremont.

Martha Driscoll died in 1945. In her will, she left 407 Marlborough to her daughter, Rosebelle (Emerson) Howard Duffy, the wife of John Leo Duffy, and Rosebelle Duffy’s four children by her first marriage, to Richard J. Howard, Jr.: Rosebelle M. (Howard) Howell, the wife of Edward P. Howell; John Edward Howard; Helene (Howard) Hill, the wife of Arthur J. Hill; and Richard J. Howard.

On November 29, 1950, 407 Marlborough was acquired by telephone company executive Frank Henry Rowland, Jr., and his wife, Rose Julie (Cunningham) Rowland. They had married earlier that year.  They lived in one of the apartments.

On July 16, 1951, 407 Marlborough was acquired from the Rowlands by real estate dealer Thomas J. Diab. On the same day, the Rowlands acquired 349 Marlborough from Thomas Diab. They moved to 349 Marlborough after remodeling it into apartments.

On December 1, 1954, 407 Marlborough was acquired from Thomas Diab by Frank R. Cacchiotti and Antonio Cacchiotti. In March of 1955, they applied for (and subsequently received) permission to convert the property from six to twelve apartments.

407 Marlborough changed hands and on November 2, 1979, was purchased by Robert S. Epstein, David R. Epstein, and John R. Svenson, trustees of the 407 Marlborough Trust,

In July of 1980, they applied for (and subsequently received) permission to convert
the property from twelve to thirteen apartments.

On February 17, 1981, they transferred the property to the 407 Marlborough Associates, Inc. (of which John R. Svenson was vice-president and treasurer). and on February 20, 1981, it converted the property into thirteen condominium units, the 407 Marlborough Street Condominium.